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April 30, 1929.

B. C. PALMER DRIVERS TOLERANCE MEANS FOR TAXIMETERS Filed Aug. 13, 1926 1 WI l l l 3 Sheets-Sheet l BrianGPalywr;

April 30, 1929. B c, PALMER 1,711,246

DRIVER'S TOLERANCE MEANS FOR TAXIMETERS Filed Aug. 13, 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 gwventoc HOT/158556518 24 I April 30, 1929. c, PALMER 1,71 1,246

DRIVERS TOLERANCE MEANS FOR TAXIMETERS Filed Aug. 13, 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 3mm Brian CiPalimez;

1. a Patented sepia .S.

UNETEFZEE DRIVER S "3631 Application filed August 18,

This invention relates to ranimeters more particularly to an improvement the which atiords the driver of the cab and rein ain leeway or tolerance in the manipulation of the meter to prevent him from hen with cash which he has not receive:

passenger.

To that end, the invention contemplates simple, practical and reliable cons n which automatically functions at a charged i iron;

the

mined point in the cycle of the flag 0 obviate ion ot unintentional or accidental act the so-called drop lever by the star-wheel unit.

dis-

two

causes, the first or" which is due to the negligence of the driver (usually unconsciously) in the operation of the meter, and, secoin the flag has been thrown to the not recording position and it happens that the nos the are drum operating or drop poised at the edge of one oi: the teeth ot e of lever is the stanwheel, a relatively slight vibration or ar of the meter will be suiilcient to tlirow the lever off or" the cam causing a unit of to be registered on the totaliZer for whic 1 driver 1s charged.

It is customary for a driver to put the the flag

of the meter in the 270 or not recording position when the passenger is in the t of paying the fare. This not recording position is so arranged that the meter is in erative condition with the once tion of clock which means that if the cab while the is in not recordi l then the meter will register addiional e opthe driven pos tion,

ash.

The driver instead of throwing the flag from the not recording position to the vacant positionimmediately after the passenger has paid his fare will frequently start the cab in motion and only then throw the flag to vacant position. It the meter happens in such a condition that increment about to be registered on the face of the n (due to the drop lever being to d 1K 01. tooth of the tar-wheeD then n OFFICE.

IVIESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO y A CDR-PORATION OF NEW 1826. Serial No. 126,955.

registered as the ting is thrown up to the vacant position and the driver is not aware or the fact.

According to the present invention, means is provided to permit the driver to run about 330 or 20 feet with the flag in not recording position, but delaying the operation of the taxinieter for this distance, thereby meeting the first condition set forth and, also nice the drop lever is moved su'liiciently to one side of the axis of the main in or star-wheel when the tie is moved to not recording accidental movement of the drop lever from shock or jar will avoided, thus taking care of the second contingency.

ii preferreo and practical ElllbOi'lllllOllt of the invention is shown in the accompanying dra gs, in w ich 1- Figure l. is a front elevation of a meter, partly in section, showing the application of a present invention.

Figure 2 a detail vertical sectional view showing the location and an arrangement of e present device.

uro 3 is a detail diagrammatic View ilting the relative position of the parts with the flag in the second tarift position, about to pass through the arc of moven'ient. approaching the not recording position.

Figure 4 is a diagrammatic view similar to Figure 3 showing the relative position of parts when the flag has reached the not recording position.

Figure 5 is a detail sectional view taken on the line 55 of Figure 1.

Similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawings.

The present lRIPIOVGlDQDtS are susceptible of embodiment in meters of standard construction and design now in use generally, but for purpose of illustration it has been found convenient to illustrate the same with the type and construction of mete shown in the application ot' lriessrs. flinch and Karich Serial No. 91,566,1iledhfllarch 1,1926. Accordingly, reference will only 0e made herein to the es sential parts oi"; the meter necessary to obtai an nnderstam ng of the present in'iprovements. The drop-lever is designated generally as it and the main cam, tare drum operating "am or, as it is frequently called the star-wheel B of the main operating unit C, operates the drop lever in the usual manner when the tooth T of the lever falls ofl' of a tooth of the cam or star-wheel. The lever A and cam l3 constitute the primary actuator for the fare drums, and while the cam B is shown as having a plurality of teeth. nevertheless since the lever A is actuated by only one tooth at a time, it will be readily apparent that the invention is adaptable to main cams having one more teeth, as shown herein.

In accordance with the usual custom, the increment of fare registered by the drums on the face of the meter takes care of the charge in either time or distance for the equivalent in length of one of the teeth of the star-wheel. In other words, the increment of fare on the face of the meter is always a prepayment for the unit of time or distance to be used by the passenger, and it sometimes happens that the tooth T will be poised at or near the end of one of the teeth of the star-wheel when a passenger leaves the cab. Under these conditions the running of the cab but a short distance before the flag is pushed back to vacant or a sufficient jar will cause the starwheel to move or slide from under the droplever tooth and thus permit the same to fall and register a new increment of fare for which the driver is held responsible, it being understood that the drop-lever is not returned to its inoperative or raised position until the flag has approximately completed its cycle and reaches the vacant position.

Therefore, it is the purpose of the present invention to provide a construction which will shift the drop-lever to one side so that the tooth T will be temporarily moved to a safety position when the flag is in the not recording position. Generally, the means for accomplishing this novel result includes a novel shifter lever S and a restraining lever R which cooperates to maintain the star-wheel unit C in its proper position and yet permit of the shifting of the drop lever to the safety position.

Before proceeding to a more detained description of the means for carrying the invention into effect it may be pointed out that the star-wheel unit C may be driven in the conventional manner from the wheel of the vehicle through the driving connections D and-clutching means D or the clock device in strumentalities E and E; both the distance and time actuating means for the star-wheel unit being controlled by suitable cams carried by the flag shaft F. The drop-lever A actuates the fare drums through the medium of its associated lever A which is interlocked therewith and operates in a plane substantially at right angles thereto. In that connection it may be noted from Figure 1 that the drop lever A is provided with an opening of sufficient width to permit of its longitudinal movement without affecting the portion of the lever A with which it engages. The vertical movement of the drop-lever A is the ctfective movement which operates the lever A.

The said drop lever is pivotally supported on the post 1 carried. by the shifter lever S and its opposite end is tensioned by the spring 2. According to past practice the pivot center 1 for the ievcr A has been tired to the meter frame but the pur 2 of t present invention is to mount th lever on the shifter lever S; which is pivotally mounted as at 3 to the frame a of the m r; so that the droplever may be shit: length to change the position of the tooth T. The shifter lever S is tensioncd by a spring 5 and its upper arm portion 6 is provided with a nose 7 adapted to be engaged by the cam 8 on the flag shaft F. This cam will move the entire lever against the tension of the spring 0.

The restrainin lever R is pivotally mounted to frame 4 of the meter is indicated at 9 and has its arm 10 tei ioned by the spring 11 while the end oppo; the spring is formed with a controlli" arm 12 aciuated by a cam 13 (also on t shaft 5) and a d pending pawl 1H The said pawl portion of the rcsti in lever is adapted to be moved into abutting or obstructing relation to suitable pins or projections carried by the star-wheei B hen the drop lever A is being shifted for the purpose of breaking the frictf between the drop-lever and the starwhee so that the drop-lever in its movement will not drag the starwheel out of position.

The operation of the device is substantiai v as follows.:\Vhen the flag is in the upi r it or vaean-f position the parts are in the relative positions shown in F igure 1 that is. the nose 4'' of the shifter lever S is resting on the body of the cam 8 and the restraining lever It is held out of the path of the pins on the star-wheel due to the fact that the controlling portion 12 of the lever is riding on the periphery of the cam 13.

In the above position the pivot point 1 of the drop-lever A is normal, and it remains.

in this position hroughout the first and swond tariff positions of the meter which covers the first 180 of the cycle of the flag. As a matter of fact, when the flag is in the second tariff or 18.0 position, as shown in the first set of dotted lines in Figure 3. none of the parts of the pr nt device have as yet moved. However. a..er the flag moves a few degrees past 180 the controlling portion 12 of the i'estraii'iingj; lever R falls into the notch of the c n 13 so that the pawl 14 will come into abutting relation to one of the pins 15 on the star-wheel. The controlling portion will continue to ride in the said notch until the nose 7 of the shifter lever S has been "veil fully onto the zenith of the cam S. 7 ither wi'uvls. the pawl 14 remains in abutting relation to one of the n in the direction oi its pins 15 on the star-wheel while the shifter lever is moving the pivot in the direction of the arrow in Figure 3 so as to break the friction between the tooth T and the starwheel and prevent the latter from being dragged out of position.

When the flag reaches the full not recording position the parts are as shown in Figure 4t. From this figure it will be observed that the tooth T of the lever A has been moved to the right on the tooth T of the star-wheel. With this additional movement to the right a safety margin or tolerance is provided which prevents an accidental falling of the drop-lever, or on the other hand gives the driver a chance to run his cab for a few feet without causing a new increment of fare to be registered on the face of the meter. When the flag is moved back to vacant the shifter lever is immediately reset and the drop lever is ready to again function.

It may also be pointed out in connection with the drop lever that the same is controlled with reference to its operative relation to the star wheel B, that is, the lever A is raised and lowered toward the star wheel unit through the upwardly extending lever arm 56, whose free end is admitted to engage with the projection 57 of the master controlling cam 27. This cam operates with an oscillating motion or snap movement as fully set forth and described in the application of Messrs. Gluck and Karich previously referred to herein. It will, therefore, be understood that the timing or setting of the cam projection S with reference to the movement of the cam projection 57 is such that the drop lever A will be lifted from engagement with the tooth T before the cam 8 moves away from the nose 7 of the lever 6 to again permit the drop lever to move to the left to its normal position, that is, the position shown in Fig. 3.

The invention is very advantageous since it prevents disputes with drivers, and for large operators means the saving of much time in adjusting disputes as well as satisfying the driver that he is not being charged for something which he did not collect.

Without further description it is thought that the features and advantages of the invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and it will of course, be understood that changes in the form, proportion, and minor details of construction inay be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or scope of the appended claims.

I claim 1. In a taximeter, the combination with the main cam and the drop-lever for actuating the fare drums, of means for shifting the drop lever while in operating relation to the main cam to a safety position.

2. In a taximeter, the combination with the main cam and the drop-lever for actuating the fare drums, of means for shifting the drop-lever forward with reference to the progressive movement of the main cam while engaged therewith.

In a tanimeter, the combination with the main cam and the di. u lever for actuating the fare drums. of flag controlled means for shifting the drop-lever forward to a safety position with reference to a tooth of the main cam while engaged therewith.

4. In a taximeter, the combination with the main cam and the drop-lever for actuating the fare drums, of flag controlled means for moving the drop-lever longitudinally at right angles to the axis of the main cam while engaged therewith.

5. In a taximeter, the combination with the main cam and the drop-lever for actuating the fare drums, of flag controlled means for shifting the drop-lever tangentially with refer ence to the peripheral plane of the main cam while engaged therewith.

6. In a ta-Ximeter, the combination with the star-wheel and the drop-lever for actuating the fare drums. of means for shifting the drop-lever while operatively engaged with the starwheel, and means for restraining the star-wheel before it is reset and during the shifting of the drop-lever.

7. In a taximeter, the combination with the star-wheel and the drop-lever for actuating the fare drums, of flag controlled means for shifting the drop-lever while engaged with the star-wheel unit, and flag controlled means for restraining the star-wheel unit before it is reset and during the shifting movement of the drop-lever.

8. In a taximeter, the combination with the star-wheel and the drop-lever for actuating the fare drums. of a shifting lever pivotally mounted in a fixed position on a part of the meter, a pivot member mounted on the shifting lever and carrying the drop-lever, a flag shaft, and cam means on the flag shaft for actuating said shifter lever during a portion of the movement of the flag shaft.

9. In a taximeter, the combination with the star-wheel and the droplever for actuating the fare drums, of a shifter lever pivotally mounted in a fixed position on a meter part, a pivot member on the shifter lever for carrying the drop-lever and i'i'ioving the same while engaged with the star-wheel, a restraining device for engaging the star wheel while the drop-lever is moved by the shifter lever, a flag shaft, and ams on the flag shaft for respectively controlling the restraining device and the shifter lever at certain points in the cycle of the flag shaft.

10. In a taximeter, the combination with the star-wheel and the drop-lever for actuating the fare drums. of a shifter lever pivotally mounted in a fixed position on a meter part and adapted to drag the drop lever over lit) the star wheel while the latter is in operating condition, a spring for tensioning the shifter lever, arestraining lever pivotally mounted on a meter part and having a pawl portion adapted to engage with the star-wheel unit, while it is operative and before it is reset, a flag shaft, and (ram means on the flag shaft for controlling the restraining means and the shifter lever.

11. In a taximeter, the combination with the flag shaft and fare drums. of actuating means "for said fare drums, and means controlled by the flag at a predetermined point in its cycle for automatically adjusting said actuating means to a safety position while all the parts of the meter are in operative condition.

12. In a taximeter, a tare drum operating cam, a flag controlled shaft and means controlled hy the flag controlled shaft to restrain said earn from movement in a forward direction while it is in operative relation to the fare drum.

In testimony whereof I hereunto altix my signature.

BRIAN C. PALMER. 

